The Gentle American Doctor MAJD MUAKKASAH ABU-IZZEDDIN
Every time I talk to people who were interviewed by Dr. Stevenson, they always ask the same questions: ‘‘Where is the American Doctor? When is he coming back to Lebanon? Is he still doing research on reincarnation?’’ Dr. Stevenson had a way of putting children and their parents at ease. He always br...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.509.8482 http://www.scientificexploration.org/journal/jse_22_1_izzeddin.pdf |
| Summary: | Every time I talk to people who were interviewed by Dr. Stevenson, they always ask the same questions: ‘‘Where is the American Doctor? When is he coming back to Lebanon? Is he still doing research on reincarnation?’’ Dr. Stevenson had a way of putting children and their parents at ease. He always brought gifts to the children that he interviewed, and his gentle, non-invasive style won their confidence. As a result they told him about many private incidents connected to their previous lives. Some even consulted him on medical issues! Whenever we returned to a house for a follow-up interview, Dr. Stevenson was always welcomed heartily. I first met Dr. Ian Stevenson in 1976, having just graduated from the American University of Beirut (AUB) with a Business Administration degree. Dr. Sami Makarem, a professor at AUB, asked me if I would be interested to work with Dr. Stevenson, who was working on cases of reincarnation in Lebanon and elsewhere. I started as an interpreter and then became his research assistant. My duties were to conduct and translate field interviews from Arabic to English, prepare reports, and research new cases for him. It was through him that I met Dr. Emily Williams Kelly, who also came to Lebanon to investigate and follow up on Dr. Stevenson’s cases. In the summer of 1980, Dr. Stevenson asked me to come to Charlottesville to assist him in organizing data for his research work at the University of Virginia. I worked on assigning computer codes to selected Lebanese cases on reincarnation. In 1997, after an absence from Lebanon of 16 years, Dr. Stevenson asked me to assist him again in his research on reincarnation in Lebanon. He arrived in the company of Tom Shroder, an award-winning journalist and later the author of Old Souls (Shroder, 1999). During that memorable visit, I arranged for Dr. Stevenson to deliver a presentation and lead a discussion on reincarnation at AUB. The hall was full, and everyone commented on his vast knowledge and dignity. It was also through Dr. Stevenson that I met Dr. ... |
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